Brazil’s Supreme Court launched a probe into foreign funding for Flávio Bolsonaro’s presidential campaign. Justice Flávio Dino ordered police to examine links between the campaign and a US group co-founded by JD Vance. Bolsonaro fled to the US after refusing to surrender his passports during a separate money laundering investigation.
After his defeat in the presidential elections, the Supreme Court of Brazil has launched a probe into alleged foreign funding for Flávio Bolsonaro's campaign, which also includes a group linked to US vice president JD Vance.
The probe comes against the backdrop of Bolsonaro fleeing to the US after he refused to surrender his passports in a money laundering probe against him.
According to a Bloomberg report, Supreme Court Justice Flávio Dino has ordered an examination of the possible use of foreign resources, services, and other benefits for Bolsonaro's presidential campaign.
The Justice also called on police to probe contacts involving the Rockbridge Network, a US-based group co-founded by Vance and two other Brazilian businessmen, to determine whether resources, services or other benefits were connected to his presidential campaign.
Along with this, a probe into election advertising linked to Polymarket, a US-based predictions site, and Meta has also been launched.
The alleged link to JD Vance also comes as Bolsonaro vowed closer ties and coordination with the Trump administration as part of his election campaign to defeat Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
US President Donald Trump has also favoured the candidate due to POTUS's ties with his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Speaking to reporters, Trump stated that the "election in Brazil was very strange," and that he will back the right-wing senator after his loss.
"The election was very strange, and I thought it was terrible. It's gotten bad reviews. You look at what happened to their market. I think it's so terrible to see it. I didn't take sides, you know. I know them both. I know Lula. I know Flavio a little bit. I know the father very well," Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews, adding that the former president was treated "very badly" by the country.
Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years and 3 months in prison by the Supreme Court for plotting a coup d'état after losing the 2022 election to Lula. The court also banned the former president from running for public office till 2060.
"I didn't take sides, but it looked like another rigged election. I just think it had a very bad look, the election, the way it was tabulated. The extension given was very strange," Trump added, referring to the extension granted by the Brazilian Supreme Court due to transportation issues on polling day.
Citing State Department officials close to the matter, CNN Brazil reported that the US government plans to grant Flavio and his family entry visas for the country.
Bolsonaro landed in Miami, Florida, on Tuesday, reported Brazilian newspaper O Globo. According to reports, the senator fled to the US via Argentina, a fact now confirmed by the government.
According to Argentina's migration department, Flavio Bolsonaro and his family entered the Argentinian province of Misiones on October 27 with valid travel documentation. From Argentina, the defeated candidate flew out to Ecaudor.
Bolsonaro arrived in the US after refusing to comply with the Supreme Court order, which called on him to surrender his passports, ordinary and diplomatic, as part of an investigation into a money laundering case against him.
The defeated presidential candidate had initially stated he would comply with the order. He also took to social media to announce that he had no intention of leaving the country. However, as the deadline approached, Bolsonaro left for the US.
The case pertains to a Brazilian lawyer who has accused Bolsonaro of laundering more than $1 billion through a fraud scheme.
He is also under criminal investigation in a case where he was allegedly caught on tape asking a disgraced banker for money in order to fund a biopic on his father.
The 45-year-old right-wing senator suffered a defeat on Sunday when he was beaten by Lula in a presidential run-off, which Bolsonaro had been widely expected to win.
Incumbent Lula won with a total of 51.79 per cent of votes in the run-off vote on October 25. Bolsonaro came in close with 48.21 per cent of the vote.
Bolsonaro called for an electoral check into the results and refused to concede to Lula, just like his father in 2022.